The field of the invention is packaging and the invention relates more particularly to packaging for consumer products which provide an attractive display when placed on the shelf of a retail outlet.
Shipping containers utilizing slots cut from a bottom edge or a top edge half way through a panel of the box are well known. U.S. Pat. No. 2,840,293 shows a shipping case having inner panels with slots which form rectangular openings to protect bottles during shipping. Similarly, U.S. Pat No. 2,837,216 shows a display stand and shipping container which also utilizes panels with slots cut part way through them.
For some products, the appearance of the product is enhanced by the ability of the consumer to view the product utilizing the product""s transparency by looking at one side and being capable of seeing through the back side while the product is in the container. Wine is especially benefited from such display, since the color of the wine is often very appealing and helps to display the wine in a much more attractive and appealing manner, particularly as compared to a wine bottle on a shelf, which has an opaque back.
The present invention is for a carrying and display case for carrying and displaying consumer products, such as bottles of wine, which permit the carried product to be viewed from the front to the back while still in the container.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a carrying case for wine bottles which may be reassembled into a wine rack.
The present invention is for a carrying case for carrying and displaying one or more consumer products. The front and back wall panels have an at least one consumer product opening shaped to secure the consumer product between the front and back wall panels when the wall panels are held together by right and left side panels. Right and left side panels have a pair of slots which mate with the slots in the front and back wall panels to form a rectangular carrying case with matched consumer product openings. When the carrying case is used for wine, a preferred configuration utilizes two openings in each of the front and back panels so that two bottles of wine may be carried. Alternatively, the carrying case can hold one bottle of wine and two wine glasses, or one wine glass and a third item, such as a corkscrew.